Back To Reality
by Dagana
Summary: Pilot AU. Dean brings Kate along to get Sam from Stanford when John goes missing. Dean/Sam/Kate. Has not been Beta’d. Please R R : Updated FEB 10 2009.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Back To Reality

**Author**: Dagana

**Summary**: Pilot AU. Dean brings Kate along to get Sam from Stanford when John goes missing. Dean/Sam/Kate. Has not been Beta'd.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, sorry, I don't own them… Wish I did- could ask but I probably will not receive.

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**Author****'s Note**:

Okay, this hasn't been Beta'd mainly because I may have bombarded my Beta with about five or six chapters and I don't think it's fair to send anymore until she's ready and recovered from the first round, so any mistakes are mine.

If anyone would like to be a Beta for this story just let me know if there are any major problems. I can never see my own mistakes and it's usually my downfall.

Please Enjoy

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**Chapter One-Sioux Falls, South Dakota**

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Dean Winchester was panicking. It had been two weeks since John Winchester had last attempted to call his oldest son and Dean's gut feeling was going into overdrive. Going from one draw to another before moving back to the worn bed, Dean hastily packed his duffle with most of his meagre belongings. Time was wasting, and Dean needed to leave that night if he was going to get to Palo Alto. To Sam.

It was about four years since the argument which had torn the Winchester clan apart. It had resulted in Sam running off to Stanford from which he had attained a full-ride. Their father running off and burying himself in hunts; and Dean staying behind to take care of his then eleven year old half-sister, Kate.

While his father and brother travelled literally to opposite ends of the country, Dean had gone to Pastor Jim Murphy and Bobby Singer for help- even though he found it hard to ask for some. The two siblings rented an apartment in Sioux Falls so that Kate could go to school and have the chance at some small sense of normalcy. While Dean made some legitimate money working at a local garage. He still went hunting either by himself or with Bobby on weekends and holidays, but it wasn't the same. Nothing was the same anymore.

The apartment door opening and closing, however, ended Dean's reverie.

Pausing momentarily, the elder Winchester looked up from where he had been packing some of his shirts to meet the gaze of his fifteen year old sister. Kate's head was tilted slightly to the side in a questioning look, her backpack still hanging from one shoulder as her other hand held the doorframe beside her. The silence ensued for a few moments, the silent questions allowed to hang between the two siblings; Kate was confused as Dean hadn't talked about a road trip, while Dean was trying to create a legitimate cover which his sister would fall for and agree to take the trip he had planned.

"Dean?" The fifteen year old prompted.

Dean stuffed the shirts he held into the duffel as he silently berated himself for teaching his younger siblings how to aim well placed questions at people through only the use of a name. Sam did the exact same thing, Dean was reminded, as his thoughts momentarily sent him into the past and back to the times when he had both his brother and sister to keep him company when their father took off for days and weeks at a time.

"Go pack some things. we're headed out." The elder Winchester sibling answered as he took a silver gun from the drawer beside his bed and checked the clip inside before putting it in the waistband of his jeans.

"What's wrong?" Kate asked as she came into the room, slowly taking her backpack from her shoulder. It was the end of the assessment period and tomorrow would mark the beginning of the courses which were due to officially start after the holidays.

"Need to take a road trip… get your stuff."

"Am I staying with Uncle Bobby?" Kate continued as she remained where she stood on the opposite side of Dean's bed as he removed the hunting knife from beneath his pillow. It was a normal thing for Dean to leave Kate with Bobby if a hunt was urgent and the elder sibling was unable to bring the younger. But today, to Kate's surprise, Dean shook his head.

"Not this time, squirt, I'm sorry."

"What's going on Dean, your scaring me."

This caused Dean to pause once more. It took a lot for Kate to admit fear, especially to Dean who both she and Sam alike his hero-worshipped growing up. But this fear was not of darkness, it was the motives behind Dean's sudden decision to leave. The past four years had been surreal; no moving around, a place to call home, a permanent school with permanent friends. Normality. Just like Sam in Stanford.

Dean straightened with a sigh as he sat on the end of his bed and motioned for Kate to sit beside him, the younger sibling complying. Even though she was in the height of her teenage years, the one-and-only female Winchester sibling still retained her childish qualities and Dean wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.

"Dad's missing squirt… we need to find him." Dean explained as he put an arm around his sister who still wore the light jacket she had gone to school in. Kate shifted uneasily at this. Things had been awkward in regards to their father since Sam had left for college. Sure, the patriarch visited when travelling to Bobby's for information, but he only phoned to give Dean co-ordinates for hunts that needed to be taken. If Dean was willing to suddenly pack up and leave the normality they had been experiencing, then it must be bad.

"He's been missing before." Kate pointed out, remembering the week of uncertainty a few years previous when John Winchester had disappeared in Clifton where a Devil's Gate happened to be. Dean, who was then Seventeen, was on the verge of calling Jim Murphy when their father had returned and had pretended as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, but not for this long- not even a voicemail. Something's wrong."

Kate began to play with the hem of Dean's open flannel shirt, which revealed the dark t-shirt he wore underneath. "What are we going to do? We're going to need some help…"

"That's why… We're going to Stanford to get Sammy."

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**A/N**: Well, there's the first chapter and I hope you liked it. I've got three spn stories going at once but this is set before ''Night's Child' and 'Stages Of Grief' so please do go and check them out and tell me what you think.

**Reviews are what feeds my Creative Muse so please do leave some. **

**Reviews help to make faster chapters ^-^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Back To Reality

**Author**: Dagana

**Summary**: Pilot AU. Dean brings Kate along to get Sam from Stanford when John goes missing. Dean/Sam/Kate. Has not been Beta'd.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, sorry, I don't own them… Wish I did- could ask but I probably will not receive.

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**Author****'****s Note**:

Wow, the feedback for the first chapter was great, thanks to mary621 and lindsch for their reviews ^-^ I know it's been forever since I've updated any of my stories, RL has been hectic with university and will be until the end of March so my stories will have gaps between any regular updates, Sorry Guys and Girls.

Please Enjoy

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**Chapter Two- 'Squirt', 'Jerk'**

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En Route to Palo Alto, California

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The impala's passenger door rattled slightly as Dean lifted his shades to find Kate with her arms full of junk food for the days ride. Stretching over, Dean opened the door slightly before falling back into the driver's seat. Kate used her foot to slowly ush the passenger door open slightly as she eased into shotgun seat beside Dean, being careful of her head as she placed two bags of potato chips and sweets into Dean's lap. Dean let out a muffled groan as the junk was dropped in his lap, allowing Kate to use her now free hand to replace her seatbelt.

It was early morning, no more than 10 o'clock, and the two Winchester siblings had been on the road for a good few hours after leaving South Dakota. They had stayed at Bobby's, who knew something was wrong at Dean's sudden decision to take a road trip and take Kate along with him, and hadn't pried further. Dean thanked the older Hunter for that. Bobby and John had fallen out a few months ago; Bobby threatening to fill the younger hunter full of buckshot lest he return.

"ready?" Dean yawned as Kate mirrored the action, as both had been unable to sleep the previous night. For what reason, both were unsure, but subconsciously, they knew it was because of what they were about to do.

"Not really," Kate mumbled as she dumped her buys into the glove compartment onto of Dean's automatic and took up his jacket to use as a pillow between her head and the window. After Dean had let the fifteen year old on his plan to get Sam from college in order to find their father, Kate had become contemplative, after she had told Dean she thought this was a bad idea.

Dean raised the dark shades once more, lifting them off completely as he put an arm over the back of the seats while Kate curled into herself slightly after not being able to sleep the night before.

"We've been through this, Kay, we got no choice. If we want to find dad, we need Sammy." Dean noted his tone was slightly hard as his sister tensed slightly- his tone of voice resembling the Winchester Patriarch. Dean hadn't meant it, but he was tired. His gut was telling him that something was wrong and that nothing else mattered other than the safety of his family; But his brain was telling him was trying to make him rethink his reckless decisions- one being his idea of getting Sam from Stanford, and the other was the fact that he had dragged his sister back into a life he had tried to keep her away from as much as possible, especially after everything that had happened whilst the family had been on the road.

"I know," Kate murmured after a few moments of silence as she relaxed, feeling Dean's eyes on her and knowing that his temper only frayed when he was tired and hadn't had enough caffeine to wake him up.

Dean felt the awkwardness rise a bit as Kate shifted under his gaze, opening a pack of pop tarts and holding them out to Dean. "You want one?"

Dean recognised the gesture for an apology and smiled weakly, Kate mirroring it weakly as Dean lazily stretched over and ruffled Kate's tied up hair.

"Squirt," Dean murmured affectionately as Kate took back the offering of pop tarts and took out one of the packet, which she placed in the glove compartment.

"Jerk," Kate mumbled back as she put the poptart in her mouth and sat back while Dean put the car into gear and switched in the radio to the usual classic rock station as he eased the Impala back onto the road.

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TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Back To Reality

**Author**: Dagana

**Summary**: Pilot AU. Dean brings Kate along to get Sam from Stanford when John goes missing. Dean/Sam/Kate. Has not been Beta'd.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, sorry, I don't own them… Wish I did- could ask but I probably will not receive.

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**Author****'****s Note**:

Wow, Two updates within a day, it's amazing and probably won't happen again so Please Enjoy.

This contains some background to the character of Kate and contains minor spoilers for the pilot in terms of the outcome for poor Jess- The idea was inspired by Bloody Mary and the idea that Sam had dreams of Jess dying days before it happened.

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**Chapter Three- In Dreams of Fire**

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For the next eight hours or so, Dean and Kate drove on the many highways and back roads of the US, up the interstate and stopping only for bathroom pit stops. By nightfall, the Winchester siblings were only a few hours from Palo Alto and had found a reasonably priced motel to stay the night; sharing a room with two queen beds, a small kitchenette, bathroom necessities and a TV with cable.

Dumping two bags, a duffle and backpack, onto the bed nearest the door, Dean stretched tiredly, his muscles protesting at the movement after being cramped in the car for most of the day. Kate trudged in behind him tiredly with the weapons duffle held in both hands, which the fifteen year old dropped to the floor with a small thud by a small table situated near the window. With a yawn, and dragging her feet, Kate plopped down on the empty bed with her eyes closed and her legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

"Hey you want something from the diner across the street? My treat." Dean asked, his stomach alerting him to the fact he hadn't had a decent meal today- for lunch, the two siblings merely ate the supplies of junk purchased earlier that morning.

"Okay, if your getting something." Kate murmured brokenly as she yawned at the same time.

"You okay? You've been sleeping all day in the car," Dean asked as he came over to sit down by Kate on the edge of the bed and patted her knee. "Something wrong?"

Kate opened her eyes to lock onto Dean's green eyes, noticing his concern.

"I'm good. Just haven't been sleeping well is all- I'll be okay when I catch up on the sleep I've lost. Really." Kate murmured as Dean sighed at the answer. She guessed that he had known she hadn't been sleeping very well, but hadn't said anything in the hope that she would tell him when she was ready. Kate thanked him for that.

"Alright… fancy a burger?" Dean asked, standing back up and grabbed his wallet and the room key.

"okay,"

"Alright, I'll be back soon," Dean said as he reached the door and opened it the cool night air.

Kate lay with her eyes closed once more as she heard Dean's resounding footsteps from the other side of the door. She hated lying to Dean- he was like a father to her in so many ways, but the dreams of fire she had been having recently were weird, even for her. She knew that if she told Dean, her brother would close up. Fire was the element which had taken he and Sam's mother away all those years ago, and Dean hardly ever touched on mother related issues. Shifting herself to a more comfortable position on her side with a hand under her head, Kate began to recall her reoccurring dream with perfect clarity…

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*Dream*

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Kate found herself in an outhouse type building. It looked like it was used for storage, perhaps machinery or hay- Kate wasn't sure- but there were patterns in the slightly dusty floor which lay at her feet. She was in the centre of the barn, as she would call it, and from the cracks in the woodwork, Kate could hear only the whistling of the wind for a time before noises could be heard coming closer…

Her point of view appeared to change perspective as she found herself standing in what looked to be the corner of a child's nursery; painted in a light colour with a cot situated by the window, containing a soft toy and pink blanket emblazoned with what appeared to be a pentagram. Kate found this strange, but had no time to ponder the blanket's significance as the light in the room shifted with the opening of the nursery door by a young woman in her twenties, who held a baby girl in her arms.

The woman had a strange pull on Kate, which the teenager ignored, as she watched the women's eyes dart around the room appearing to search for any danger before turning grey eyes to a little girl of no more than a year old, who was sucking her fingers while holding onto the fabric of her mother's shirt.

The woman's eyes were sad, Kate noted, as she planted a kiss into the toddlers short, dark hair. Moving over to the cot, Kate then noticed the small girl was dressed in a pair of baby pink pyjamas, the woman gently lowered the small girl into the cot. The baby released her mother's shirt as she was laid into the wooden cot, her blue coloured eyes staring up at her mother with childish inquisitiveness as the woman raised the blanket with the emblazoned pentagram up to cover the child. The small girl immediately settled as her mothers ran soft fingers through her hair and planted a kiss onto the child's forehead as small eyelids closed and gentle breathing immediately sounded.

_No child could fall asleep that fast_, Kate thought to herself as the woman watch the now sleeping baby as her thoughts echoed in Kate's Mind,

'_I'm so sorry, little one. I hope you will forgive me someday…'_

Kate found this unnerving as in a wash of colour she came to the part of the dream she dreaded the most…

It was the barn again, and the air was suffocating. It was being filled as each moment passed with more denser smoke as Kate felt the woman panic as she began to bang her hand desperately against the door as she continued to cough through the smoke inhalation she was suffering from. The woman was panicking as her thoughts turned to her sleeping baby.

Willing herself to suddenly still, the woman appeared to steel herself before beginning to murmur words hoarsely in a language Kate couldn't place, making the smoke dissipate slightly as breathing became easier for a time as the woman peered through the crack in the door with a hitch of breath followed by another cough.

'_Ciaran…_' The woman's thoughts projected out loudly. _That must be her boyfriend_, Kate thought as she felt an overpowering sadness hit her as clarity hit home for the young mother. '_Ciaran wants her… he's figured it out…_'

Then came the sound Kate dreaded as the stillness of the moment passed. The woman must have realised this too as she began to desperately find a way to break out.

'_It's a spell.. He's doing this with a spell…' _Kate's head snapped up. This was new, and it surprised her every time she heard it. If the woman recognised this was a spell, then she knew of the supernatural; And that she had also made a connection between it and her small, innocent baby.

Cracking and splintering of wood could be heard as a sudden burst of flames from all sides of the barn caused Kate and the woman to go to the very centre of the barn. Exactly the same place Kate had previously stood earlier on in the dream.

As flames began to lick the ground at their feet, the now supernaturally aided fire caused part of the roof to cave in, Kate heard one final, heartbreaking thought from the woman.

'_My sweet daughter, I will love you always. Goodbye.'_

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*End Dream*

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The opening and closing of the motel room door caused Kate to jump as Dean came in with the takeaway bags from the diner and placed them on the small table, followed by the room and impala keys. Dean stopped short as he saw the motion while in the process of removing his leather jacket.

The oldest Winchester sibling had noted the slight change in his little sister over the past two weeks or so as Kate began to wake up regularly in the middle of the night and proceeded to revert to slipping in to sleep with Dean like she used to as a small child. She had grown out of the action at twelve which made Dean wary even more of Kate's sudden change.

Kate took a deep breath as the noise surprised her and returned her to reality. Feeling the fast beating of her heart, Kate squeezed her eyes shut momentarily as she willed herself to calm down. She ignored the slight dip in the bed as she focused on her breathing, tensing for a second as a strong hand touched the space between her shoulder blades and began to rub up and down in a soothing manner as a deep voice spoke gently.

"Take it easy, Tiger. It's alright." Dean murmured, not knowing what was going on in his sister's head but knowing he wouldn't get anything out of her until she had calmed down. Even though his patience had begun to wear thin though him choosing to take a step back slightly, Dean berated himself for allowing his sister to get worse. It was going to stop. Her wouldn't let Kate brush this off again. Of that he was sure.

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_**Palo Alto, California**_

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The apartment was still and silent. The only noise was of the quiet breathing of it's two sleeping occupants who slept in a double bed with their small, top window open because of the warm evening. This regularity however, changed when the male occupants breath began to hitch as his shaggy brown haired head shifted on the pillow as she moved to lay on his back….

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*Dream*

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"Jess I'm home,"

His voice rang out as he placed a brown holdall by the couch and headed toward the open bedroom door, but stopped at the small dining table where a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies stood in the centre with a note reading:

'_Welcome home, Sam. Love, Jess xxx'_

Sam smiled as he picked up a cookie and put it to his mouth, taking a bite before continuing his journey to the bedroom. Hearing the shower, Sam gave a smile as he fell back onto the freshly made bed with eyes closed.

Letting out a content sigh, Sam relaxed back before a frown overcame his features as he felt something warm and sticky fall to his forehead. This was followed a moment later by another drop, causing Sam to squeeze his eyes shut. Shaking his head slightly, Sam opened his eyes only to let out a gasp as his Brown eyes locked with Jess's Blue; Sam was still lying on the bed but Jess was… Jess was on the ceiling, with her abdomen being ripped open with an invisible force, bloodying her white chemise.

"No!" Sam cried as fire burst into life around Jess, instantly engulfing her before blasting out towards Sam.

The last thing he felt was the heat…

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*End Dream*

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Sam Winchester's Brown eyes shot open as his breath caught in his throat, nearly suffocating him. Sweat had drenched his t-shirt and hair, a thin layer glistening on his skin as he tried to get his breathing back under control so as not to awaken his sleeping girlfriend. The dream had felt so real, especially his emotions of fear and grief, and the feeling of the Fire's searing heat as it licked his body. It was a dream of Fire. And it scared him.

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**TBC****…**

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**Author Note**: Okay, so now i kinda need minor help. Should i get Dean to talk to Kate about the dreams she has been having? Or should i reunite the Winchester Siblings? Lemme Know :) Reviews are Muffin 3


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